A Craigslist ticket scam targeted the wrong fan.
A 32-year-old teacher and her boyfriend -- a Boston College cop -- volunteered to go undercover and help police after she paid $1,400 for a package of fake NBA Finals tickets. The teacher, a Celtics season-ticket holder who spoke with the Boston Herald on condition of anonymity, determined the tickets were fake when she compared them with a set a real tickets she planned to exchange for seats closer to the court.
"That was two weeks worth of pay down the drain," the teacher told the Herald. "On a side-by-side comparison, you could tell they were fake."
She said the writing appeared blurry on the fake tickets and the colors were not the same.
Boston police said a Whittier man was arrested and charged in connection with the case. Edward Lopez, 42, was charged Monday in Boston Municipal Court with thre counts of larceny over $250 by scheme.
He pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $3,000.
Lopez was arrested Sunday after an undercover operation. Police had the woman contact the seller again.
The Herald reported that the woman's boyfriend posed as a fan in need of tickets and offered to meet for the transaction at a P.F. Chang's restaurant. The suspect, who called himself "Jason," was arrested.
Prosecutors said a Stoneham, Mass., man unrelated to the women told authorities Monday he had bought four fake tickets from Lopez for $2,100.
